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DARIEN, Conn. — A Bridgeport man was arrested after police said he fled from officers who tried to stop him in Darien, and then later tried to convince officers that he hadn't even been driving the car.

On Thursday, Jan. 11, an officer saw a car driving east on Heights Road in Darien with heavy front end damage and no headlights on, police said. The officer got behind the car, at which point it picked up speed. When the officer tried to pull the car over, it took off, passing cars in the oncoming lane of traffic, according to police.

It eventually got onto I-95 north, at which point the officer decided not to pursue it for safety reasons.

The officer got the license plate number of the car, and was able to get in contact with the owner, 35-year-old Benjamin Nieves of Bridgeport. Nieves told police that the car was disabled due to a broken fuel pump, and that he was not in the car in question, police said. He came to headquarters to show security camera pictures of his car in the driveway of his home.

Police said the officer identified the car in the photos as the one he had tried to stop, and noted that the car appeared to be in different locations at different times in the pictures. Nieves said that he had pushed the car around the driveway to gain access to his garage, and added that his friend may have taken the car.

Police got in contact with the friend, who initially said he had the car but was not in Darien, police said. After more questioning, he told officers that he didn't have the car, and was simply trying to help Nieves by saying that he did, according to police.

Nieves was placed under arrest and charged with disobeying the signal of an officer, reckless driving and failure to have lights lit. He was released on a $15,000 bond and given a court date of Jan. 23.